Florida Volleyball Faces Alabama

The No. 19 Florida volleyball team entertains Alabama at 1 p.m. Sunday in the O’Connell Center.

This marks the 60th meeting between the SEC teams, with the Gators (5-5, 0-1 SEC) taking home 54 wins. The latest meeting was Nov. 10 last year at the O’Connell Center with Florida winning 3-0. 

The Crimson Tide (8-3, 0-1) are in their fourth season under coach Rashnda Reed’s leadership and they finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with an 8-2 record, losing only to Cincinnati and UCF.

Florida is in the midst of a three-match homestead to start the SEC season after its 3-2 loss to Mississippi State on Friday. 

The Gators won the first set against the Bulldogs, but dropped the second and third before forcing a fifth set, which they lost 15-9. Florida finished with 52 errors to account for 48.6% of Mississippi State’s points. Middle hitter Jaela Auguste was the lone bright spot in UF’s poor offensive night, notching 16 kills on a .500 hitting percentage. 

But maybe it was the day of the week that held Florida back. In an interesting twist, a victory against Alabama would boost the Gators’ record to 5-1 when playing on Sundays this season. The only loss came this week.

In the Gators’ 3-1 loss to Wisconsin on Sunday, five players set or tied career highs: Lily Hayes ended with seven assists, Kira Huston with 13 digs, Jordyn Bird with three digs, three blocks (tied) and one assist, Bella Lee with three assists, five digs (tied) and one kill (tied) and Auguste with one assist (tied).

The Gators tend to do well in SEC play with a track record of 25 regular-season titles under former coach Mary Wise, who retired in February. Last season, Florida tied for third in the SEC with Missouri, going 11-5. The Gators hope to secure the title for the first time since 2022. 

Today’s coverage begins on WRUF (98.1-FM/850-AM) at 12:45 p.m., while it will be stream on SEC+ starting at 1 p.m.

Category: Gators Volleyball, Volleyball